只会管爱人叫honey？这里有20种甜蜜昵称 拿走不谢！（上） Can you guess what these 20 old-fashioned terms of endearment mean? （part Ⅰ）

爱情可以是永恒的，但是爱人间的昵称却随着时间流逝不断演变和更替。你还是只会将爱人唤作honey或sweetheart吗？这里有20种甜蜜昵称，虽然古老，但是却能给即将到来的情人节增加一点新鲜感。

What did "I'm the huckleberry to your persimmon" mean?
昵称一：越橘果

Popular in the 1830s, it was the comparison of something small to something great. It became a saying of love and "huckleberry" came to mean sweetheart, friend, or partner.
这一说法在19世纪30年代很流行，原来是用于将小东西（越橘果）和大东西（柿子）相比较。后来这一说法便用来表达爱意，越橘果也成了爱人、朋友或伴侣的代称。

If you were to call someone a "mouse," what were you referring to them as?
昵称二：老鼠

Taken from Old English but popularized by Shakespeare, it means a demure or quiet darling, particularly a woman.
这一昵称来自古英语，但却是因为莎士比亚而普及的，指的是娴静的爱人，尤其是女性。

demure[dɪˈmjʊr]: adj. 端庄的；娴静的

Not a knight in training, what did "squire" mean?
昵称三：侍从

A "squire" is a man who accompanies or escorts a woman.
“侍从”指一个陪伴或护送女性的男子。

What did "lambkin" refer to?
昵称四：小羊

Used by Shakespeare in his "Henry" plays, "lambkin" can refer to both a small child and lovers. It was an endearing term used among families.
莎士比亚在他的戏剧《亨利》系列中用过这个说法。“小羊”可以指小孩，也可以指爱人。在过去曾被用为家人之间的昵称。

If you called someone "golpol," how were you describing them?
昵称五：美人

This 16th-century term to describe beauty was derived from the word gold-poll or golden headed, according to David Crystal's "Words in Time and Place."
根据戴维·克里斯特尔的《时空中的词汇》，这个词语源于gold-poll或golden headed（金发美人），在16世纪用于形容美人。

What would you mean by the word "tib"?
昵称六：小牛

You were calling them a young calf. In 14th-century England, calves were seen as both very expensive and also cute. "Tib" refers to someone desirable.
这个词是小牛的意思。在14世纪的英国，小牛被认为既昂贵又可爱。因此tib指有吸引力的人。

What did the name "ladybird" mean?
昵称七：瓢虫

Taken from "Romeo and Juliet," the name refers to a close female friend or sweetheart.
这个昵称来自《罗密欧与朱丽叶》，指的是亲密的女性朋友或爱人。

If someone called you a "duck," they were referring to you as what?
昵称八：鸭子

Darling or dear. This term was Shakespearean in origin.
称呼某人“鸭子”相当于说“亲爱的”。这个昵称源自莎士比亚作品。

What did the term "bearcat" mean?
昵称九：熊狸

In the 1920s, a "bearcat" referred to a hot-tempered woman with a lot of spirit.
在20世纪20年代，“熊狸”指的是精神饱满的急性子女人。

What did "old thing" mean?
昵称十：老东西

In the 19th century, "old thing" lost its negative connotations and was used as a term of affection for one's partner.
在19世纪，“老东西”不再含有贬义，而是被作为对伴侣的昵称。

英文来源：内幕网

翻译&编辑：丹妮